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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684545">Blip's Journey</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowClemson/pseuds/WillowClemson'>WillowClemson</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Death, Fear of Death, Gen, Immortality, Outer Space, Plotty, Redemption, Stars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:34:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowClemson/pseuds/WillowClemson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story of overcoming fear. </p><p>This isn't smut, BUT this is the first time in several years anything I wrote turned out exactly how I envisioned it and was finished within a day.<br/>I am very proud.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Blip's Journey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Blip takes a breath for the first time.</p><p>But it isn't really a breath, because Blip lives in the vacuum of the great beyond. Here, there is no air, no noise, no light save for the force of Blip's own life. It's peace. Blip lives closest to Burst and Beam. They are friendly and beautiful. Blip's space is his own and he has lots of living things around him, but none seem to give him joy like his neighbors. Burst and Beam have lights of their own and they shine far brighter than Blip, but he never minded that, and he always said hello when he saw them. He would see Burst later today. Right now, he is looking towards Beam, but she's dimmer than usual and is looking away from him, off in the distance where he can't see. Why does she look so sad?<br/>
He sends a wave of energy her way to ask what's wrong. He feels it before Beam gets back to him: a shock wave. A cry for help, a scream of terror... then nothing. Beam's energy reaches him shortly after: a hazy vision of Burst's final moments. He gets bigger, then brighter, changes colours, then he's gone. Blip is angry. Blip sends hateful energy to Beam, accusing her of lying to him. She sends no energy back. Sure enough, when Blip arrives to where he and Burst exchanged 'hello's, Burst isn't there. His space is dark and empty. Beam wasn't lying. Blip felt Burst die, and he died afraid.<br/>
Blip is sad. The next chance he gets, he sends contrite energy to Beam, begging her forgiveness, but he receives no reply. Her light is cold and she is quiet. Blip is alone.</p><p>Blip mourns Burst for many days; he isn't sure how long. Without Beam to say hello to, Blip has no marker for the passage of time, and decidedly ceased counting. It isn't long before he has the desire not to shine.<br/>
As soon as comes the thought, comes a whisper.<br/>
It comes from where Burst had always been, and in the excitement of the familiarity, Blip turns to see his old friend.<br/>
But still the expanse is dark, and just as Blip sinks back into his despair, again comes the whisper, the voice of a child.<br/>
"Aren't you scared?" It says. "Burst is dead, and he died alone and terrified. Isn't that awful? What if you died? What if you wind up just like Burst? Alone and scared and in pain and then gone?"<br/>
Blip has heard enough. He turns to leave, and just before the dark voice would have been heard no more, it asks:<br/>
"What if I could give you a life without death?"<br/>
'Stupid,' thinks Blip. 'That's not possible, and if it was, it'd come for a horrible price.' But every without fail, comes the voice with its questions.<br/>
"Aren't you scared?" "Aren't you tired?" "Don't you want the pain to stop?" "Do you want to die like that?" "What if someone hears your final scream and is haunted like you?" "Aren't you scared?" "What if this is all there is?" "Don't you want more of it?" "Aren't you scared?"</p><p>Blip can't take it anymore. He sends fearful energy into the dark towards the voice.<br/>
"What does it cost?" asks Blip. For a moment, there's nothing, just like with Beam... then, a wave of gracious energy. If it had a face, he's sure it would be smiling, but it's only darkness.<br/>
"Such a small price...I only ask for a very small piece of your light for every day beyond your death that you live, and I will always take my portion from your whole; so, your light will never go out. Life or pain...it's your choice."<br/>
Blips knows it isn't telling the whole story, but he's so tired of being sad and afraid. Who is he to argue with such a crafty salesperson?<br/>
Blip sends a wave of accepting energy, and with that, he sells his light.</p><p>Blip lives a long, happy life. He grows up and learns so much about life. He works every day and keeps busy. Beam forgives him for his callous remarks, and he is invited to her wedding. He watches her grow old with her spouse and have children, and he is there when she dies, dancing with her spouse until they collide, both exploding into light and colors, sending out loving energy to all their nearby stars. Their death is calm and beautiful. Blip never meets another star he really loves; so, he never has children. He grows old, and when his time comes, he's lived enough, but he's still scared. </p><p>He forgets he made a deal.<br/>
The darkness returns at the moment of his last breath, and gives what it promised. It takes a piece of his light, and he lives on.<br/>
He enjoys his extra time. Everyday, he gives what he promised, and every day, he enjoys borrowed life. He watches Beam's children grow old and die, and their children, and so on. Blip decides to have a family of his own. He watches them grow old, and die. So he has another, and another, and watches each time a light goes out. There is no dancing. They don't send waves of love.<br/>
Blip mourns alone each time; he becomes the watcher of the thing he so fears, the inevitable companion of death. Blip is sad. His extra days have ceased to be joyous. It's only now he notices how dim his light is. He barely shines at all. Ah... the catch: his light will never go out, it only gets smaller. So the living things around him also die, fading into the darkness around him. Blip shouts out a wave of angry energy into the empty.<br/>
"Hello?" A voice, accompanied by a wave of confused energy. Blip thought he was alone, that all the lights in sight had died.<br/>
Blip slowly turns to see the smallest of lights, hiding just far enough away to be missed when passing by. He sends out a 'hello'.<br/>
"HI! I'M BEACON!" She's a loud one, for someone so small. Beacon and Blip become friends, and although Blip is no longer alone, he is still sad and afraid.<br/>
The darkness coming to collect its share becomes a daily battle. Every day, Blip begs the darkness not to dim his light, but every day, the darkness asks:<br/>
"Do you want to die?" And every day, his answer is the same.<br/>
Blip is too scared to die, and he chooses to live sad and afraid.</p><p>Beacon may be young and small, but she isn't stupid.<br/>
"Why do you let it do that?" She asks one day. "Why do you let the darkness take you?" Blip ignores Beacon. She isn't helping. But she continues to nag, and Blip gives up not answering.<br/>
"Aren't you scared of dying?" He asks her.<br/>
"What's dying?" She asks. This troubles Blip. He has never had to explain, despite having seen so much.<br/>
"Well... dying is when your light goes out and you're not here anymore. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it's peaceful and beautiful, and sometimes it just happens. Then, the people you knew remember you and live without you."<br/>
"Can I remember you, Blip?!" She sends excited energy. 'What's wrong with this kid? ...she won't remember me because she'll die and I won't.' He thinks, and the thought makes him very sad.<br/>
"Yeah, Beacon, you can remember me," he lies.<br/>
"Will you wait for me, Blip?" Blip sends her a wave of confused energy. "You know, when you go wherever you go dying?" He had never considered it that way. What if his families were waiting for him? What if there was nowhere to wait?<br/>
"I don't know, Beacon. I can try, I suppose. I don't really know where I'll go. I might just be gone."<br/>
"Oh," she sends a wave of sad energy, "Well, I'll remember you anyways." With that, the conversation ends. But something in Blip is missing because of it, and the next time the darkness comes, Blip will be ready.</p><p>It comes in the morning today, a special wave of joy emanating from it's depths. Blip doesn't bother asking why.<br/>
"I'm not giving you my light," he tells it. The darkness is hardly phased, and asks the same question as always:<br/>
"Do you want to die?"<br/>
"No, but I will." It sends a wave of confusion back.<br/>
"But, there's a disaster coming. An asteroid is coming and it will surely end all life in its path unless I save you. You will die. Don't you want to live, Blip?" It seems to bargain harder today than usual.<br/>
"That's fine," Blip responds. He knows now why the darkness's joy makes such sense. 'End all life in its path... if it didn't hit me, it would hit Beacon.' Still, the darkness continues to bargain:<br/>
"But, Blip, don't you want to live? You'll die in pain! What about Burst?! Don't you remember?! Aren't you scared?!" It's practically begging.</p><p>"No. I'm not anymore." The darkness continues to beg and argue, but Blip doesn't listen. He watches the asteroid approach. He doesn't have time to talk to Beacon directly. Blip sends out a wave of love, and the atmosphere of the asteroid breaks against him.</p><p>Blip takes a breath of air for the first time.</p>
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